Establishing Brand Identity to Boost Sales and Create Profit

Whether your business is operating in the form of a brick and mortar shop or an online store, brand presentation is key when it comes to making sales. The way that your brand comes across to consumers can make all the difference between whether you make sales which convert into profit or whether customers abandon your products, opting for competitors and rival companies instead. So, it’s time to start focusing on your brand identity.

What is Brand Identity?

Brand identity is the way that a business portrays itself to its consumers. It reflects what the business is bringing to the market. Brand identity can reflect what your business is selling as well as your company’s ethics and ideologies. It can also exemplify the quality of service that you intend to deliver and your brand’s advantages over competing brands. To ensure that the way that your brand represents itself, you first need to understand a few things: your company’s business goals, the people that you are catering to and the type of interaction that you want to have with your potential customer base. Establishing business goals will highlight the areas that you will want to focus on. If you are in the game to generate profit, you want to prioritize your brand’s association with its high-quality, desirable products. If your business is invested in creating positive change in the world, you will want to center your brand identity around your company’s ethical practices. Once you know your target audience, you will be able to fashion your brand to suit their tastes, appealing to them aesthetically and on an equal plane of values and ideals. This information will allow you to move onto the final process in fostering brand identity: deciding upon the kind of communication you wish to have with your intended customers. If you intend to cater to professionals who prioritize value and quality, you will be likely to opt for a professional and formal brand personality. If your consumers hold reputation and luxury in high regard, a more detached, nonchalant attitude is preferable. If you are targeting those invested in social justice, casual tones and enthusiasm are likely to prosper.

Brand Logo and Typeface

Your brand logo and typeface are the two aspects of your brand identity that customers will notice first. It is the branding that they will automatically associate with your stock. So make the most of their potential. Employ an experienced graphic designer to work with you, putting your ideas down onto paper (or the computer screen). They will have a good working knowledge of what works and what doesn’t, so listen to their advice and take heed. Regardless of what you’re selling, remember that minimalism is key. You don’t want to overwhelm your customers before they have even started to look at the goods that you are offering.

Store Layout / Web Design

If you have a tangible business, you will want to focus on your store layout. The equivalent of this in the world of E-commerce is your web design. This is the space in which your potential customers can browse your products, learn more about your brand and make purchases. It is the base of your customers’ experience. So make it memorable and consistent with what your brand represents. For brick and mortar stores, focus on functionality as well as aesthetic appeal of your store fixtures. Store lighting should complement your stock, quite literally displaying it in the best light possible. The public should be able to maneuver their way around without obstacles blocking their way, so keep walkways clear and stock accessible. If your brand has a vintage vibe, opt for vintage furniture. This could include an old fashioned till and reclaimed wood counters. If your store has a modern and sleek feel, keep the color scheme limited and neutral and fixtures high gloss. As with a physical store, an online store should also have simple navigation and a stock color scheme. This should ideally match your brand logo. Incorporate this into homepage banners, pop ups and any social media feeds or blogs affiliated with your brand.

Presentation of Stock

The way that you present your stock says a lot about your brand. Think of the different ways in which already established brands vary. Ethical companies, such as Lush, tend to have a casual store layout, with goods piled high upon one another on countertops and work surfaces. High-end fashion brands display goods individually in a plain atmosphere, allowing attention to focus entirely on single products. Their comparative rarity is enhanced by storing stock of different sizes and excess stock out back. Companies that sell accessories often use specialist Retail displays for jewelry or watches, which allow them to display and showcase their products in the best possible light. Ensure that the way in which you display your products to your customers is consistent with the rest of your brand image. This also applies to those specializing in Ecommerce. If anything, your customers rely even more on the way that you present your stock when they are purchasing online. When shopping on the web, they only have images to go by, so invest in professional product photography. Well taken images will allow customers to zoom in on your products, encouraging them to add items to their basket as they can see the high-quality of your merchandise.

Social Media Feeds

A good way to further engage with the marketplace is to set up social media feeds for your brand. Visual platforms such as Instagram are perhaps most effective, as they allow you to create what is essentially a public mood board for your brand. Specific color schemes, types of photography and messages can be posted, reaching a worldwide audience and solidifying your brand’s public image.

These are just a few steps in the long journey of fostering a brand identity that allows you to engage more effectively with your target market and root your brand in the competitive marketplace. However, completing these steps alone can drastically boost your sales and result in a larger profit turnover than originally expected. So get establishing your brand identity!

Hey there! I'm Abby - a coffee addicted life coach /educator/blogger/mama with a creative soul + passionate heart. My goal is to inspire and encourage passionate women to live a life fulfilled through self-care, a healthy lifestyle, mindfulness, and personal development. Read More…